A sweet romantic story of boy meets girl(?)

As a freshly minted senior it was really beneath me to notice freshmen but for some reason I did notice the two of them. At first I thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend even if the girl was a bit tomboyish. This was confirmed when I heard that they were called Taylor and Bobby. I really was surprised when I learned that the “girl” was Bobby and the boy Taylor. I could have sworn that Bobby was a girl. Well, we all make mistakes but I still found it hard to think about Bobby as anything but a girl. He gave off such feminine vibes!

At first the boys were like any other freshmen – confused, scared, occasionally bullied. As the weeks went on most freshmen found their feet, including Taylor. Bobby? Well, he seemed to withdraw more and more. I could see how frustrated Taylor grew. Many boys would have distanced themselves from a boy such as Bobby, especially since he turned into a bully magnet. Not Taylor.

Well, as I said freshmen were beneath my notice so why would I care? Nonetheless I did keep an eye on them. I still have no idea why.

One day in October I got a whopping surprise. Taylor came to school in a skirt, hose, make-up … Doing the full “Girl”. Everyone was surprised, Bobby slunk away. Until lunchtime everyone was too shocked to do anything. Then some sophomores gather around Taylor…

First taunts and then they started hitting him. That’s when I intervened.

- Hey guys! Don’t beat up my date! When I take her to the movies tonight people will think I did that.

Completely shocked the boys just looked at me. They were not alone. I could almost hear the thoughts. Why is Peter doing this? Is he gay? Can we use this?

That last thought vanished as the rest of the football team positioned themselves around me. No matter the circumstances the team always sticks together even if I could see some of them questioning what I did. And why did I do it?

If I was right Taylor was really brave. Brave, caring and all-round good guy. Brave but at the same time a bit stupid and very, very naïve.

Taylor stuttered

- Thank you for saving me
- Calm down. Let’s sit down and have lunch together

Taylor was apologetic, thankful and scared. I assured him (her?) everything was OK and insisted that we really were going to the movie that night. A date. Taylor tried to stop me. I didn’t take no for an answer.

- But I have nothing to wear!
- No problem. I think I can talk my sister into lending you something.

Finally Taylor agreed. We were to meet after practice and first I’d take her to see my sister and then I’d drive her home. I wanted everything to be done the proper way. Meeting the parents and all that. At practice I talked to my teammates and told them why I was doing this and what I believed to be the circumstances. They agreed to back me up. This was a huge relief. They even volunteered be around to protect Taylor and Bobby.

My sister was strangely difficult to convince to lend Taylor a nice dress. I wound up bribing her but insisted that the bribe would include a complete do-over. Then I left them since I had an errand to do.

Meeting Taylor’s parents went well. They were a bit surprised about the girl Taylor and a date with me but they soon came around.

I had got my money’s worth from Sis. Taylor was really cute. Pretty in a girl-next-door manner. The movie was a good one. After we went and something to eat. We talked a lot. Taylor had relaxed. They were fun to talk with. They turned out to be quite smart and with dry wit I appreciated. However, Taylor once more showed themselves to be very naïve. Didn’t even notice my careful probing. It turned out I had been right. Taylor rose further in my esteem. From being a pure rescue job this started to become something more. How much more? I didn’t know. I did give Taylor the obligatory kiss when dropping them off at the door-step. A quick peck one on the cheek. It wasn’t late since I had asked the principal for a meeting early in the morning.

This was not the last date. I kept asking Taylor for new dates. Finally they agreed. We had fun. We really clicked. I opened up the world of sports for Taylor. Taylor opened up the world of arts for me. We went to games, we went to plays and ballets. Opera – only once. That was a step too far for me. Ballet on the other hand – so much strength and grace and the same time … I even tried to talk Taylor into taking classes. Taylor absolutely refused and only laughed when I offered to take classes with them.

On the other hand I was surprised when Taylor started to hang out with the cheerleaders, even practiced with them. Unfortunately I couldn’t watch as much as I wanted to since their practice was at the same time as football practice. Nonetheless, hanging out with the cheerleader did wonders for Taylor’s girliness. The quick pecks on the cheek moved to the lips and became longer.

Even if everyone in school assumed Taylor was a girl Taylor’s position in school was a bit ambiguous. Taylor changed in a separate room but had PE with the girls. The Principal had been very accommodating. However, Taylor never brought any documentation from a psychologist so “he” remained a boy in the records.

As Taylor and I grew closer and closer I got worried. Not only about the relationship. I was worried that Taylor would lose their old friendship with Bobby. At first it appeared so. Bobby kept his distance from Taylor. However, as the weeks went and both Taylor and Bobby were safe Bobby and Taylor found their old friendship again. The safety of Bobby and Taylor was ensured by the football team. It was a great relief that John, the quarter-back, took charge of looking out for Bobby.

By March people were starting to talk about Taylor as a possible prom queen. Absolutely ridiculous but we were flattered.

In April Bobbie came out as transgendered, finally! Bobbie had all the paperwork and had started the full transformation, as far as the laws allowed. Since people were used to Taylor everything went without any new fuss. And John, the QB, started dating her immediately. The poor guy had really fallen for her!

A few days later Taylor told me that they wanted to have a serious talk with me. Since it was quite nice warm evening I got her into my car and we drove to “Lovers’ Point”. Taylor became frantic when realizing where we were heading.

- NO, NO, NOT HERE. ANYWHERE BUT HERE
- Don’t worry. I think I know what you want to say and this is the perfect place.

Taylor kept protesting but for once I ignored their wishes. Arriving at “Lovers’ Point”, a piece of land stretching out into a wood-surrounded lake with a lovely view of the sunset, I was a bit bummed that the spot I had planned to use already was occupied by Bobbie and John. Bobbie was clinging on John smothering him in kisses. I wondered what going to happen in Fall when John went to college. I came to the conclusion that it’d work out ok. John was a levelheaded guy and would dive into his studies until he found something new. Bobbie? Bobbie was in love, not exactly with John but with being in love, or more accurately: in love with being in love as a girl.

When Taylor and I had found a spot Taylor cried a bit before finally telling me what was so important.

He had only come to school as girl so that Bobbie would take the terrifying step to admit she was a girl. Taylor never thought of himself as girl, it was all an act. Things had not gone as expected. Bobbie had been too scared and never dared to take the step. Taylor had kept on and on hoping. And then I had complicated everything. Taylor was grateful for what I had done for him. Now that Bobbie had come out and there was no point in doing the girl he had planned to go back to being a boy. The problem was that he had gotten deeper and deeper into the girl act. And she “hated” me for being such a nice guy. Taylor had started loving me.

He had struggled to stop it. He had failed. Now he was so confused. Was he a girl or not. Did he love me or not. And he had deceived me. That was the worst part. Taylor broke down in tears.

With a finger under Taylors chin I raised her head and looking into a pair of blue eyes I’d gladly drown in

- Shush. I knew from the beginning what you were doing. You never deceived me. I knew very well what I was doing. Who do think talked to your parents and the principal?
- You did all that even if you knew?
- Yes, I did. I did it gladly. I admired your courage, you caring, you being an extraordinary friend. I couldn’t do less. Only thing is – I did the same mistake you did, I fell in love despite vowing not to. I don’t care if you are a boy or a girl I love you. We still have time for you to figure out who you are.

And then I kissed the love of my life.
I realized I had been wrong! Terribly wrong! What I had felt was not love.

Kissing Taylor without either of us holding back was Epiphany!
What I had felt before was just a pale reflection of love. Boy or girl, I LOVED Taylor. We would have lots of problems ahead of us. Not only in finding out who Taylor is but also separation when I went to college.

Right now that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered!

Except that I was sitting there by the lake with Taylor snuggling up to me and that I loved Taylor and Taylor loved me.